European Union

Bulgaria's justice ministry said on Tuesday it plans to stop selling controversial "golden passports" to wealthy foreigners, because the scheme had failed to bring any significant economic benefits. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta grant citizenship against investment, which then opens the door to most other EU countries. The practice is expected to be criticised by the EU Commission in a report on Wednesday into residency schemes in 20 EU states.

James Dyson, the billionaire Brexit supporter who revolutionised vacuum cleaners with his bagless technology, is moving his head office to Singapore from Britain to be closer to his company's fastest-growing markets.

State-run oil firm PKN Orlen has offered liquidity to newspaper distributor Ruch ahead of a possible plan to take over the company, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The secretary general of the OECD, Ángel Gurría, believes that extending Brexit talks until July could be feasible in order to ensure an agreement is sealed. Speaking to EURACTIV.com in an exclusive interview in Davos, the Mexican diplomat and economist expressed his concerns about the paralysis spreading in many countries in Europe.

Azerbaijan has dropped fresh charges against a jailed anti-corruption blogger who has denounced his prosecution as politically motivated, prosecutors said Tuesday (22 January).

The energy regulators of Spain and France have rejected an investment request to build the central section of the planned Midi-Catalonia (MidCat) gas pipeline linking the two countries, in a move that could spell the end of the entire project, green activists said.

Two ships ablaze in the Black Sea region, leaving at least 10 crew members dead, caught fire while transferring fuel mid-sea after one vessel was barred from using its usual port in southern Russia due to US sanctions risk, two sources told Reuters.

Obesity affects at least one in six adults and one in eight children aged 7-8 across EU countries, putting pressure on policymakers to fight the crisis and nudge behavioural changes in citizens' lifestyles.

Reusing data held by the public sector will become easier and cheaper

Less regulation and lower taxation rank at the top of their respective political agendas, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo successively told participants at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos (Switzerland) on  Tuesday (22 January).

The case of the Russian oligarch Sergei Adoniev is a good example for the obscure ways Bulgarian citizenship is being granted to paying clients. Free Europe Bulgaria broke the story on Tuesday (22 January) a day before the EU Commission will issue a warning against “golden passports” schemes.

European Council President Donald Tusk and President of Georgia Salomé Zourabichvili spoke to the press after their meeting held in Brussels.

The European Union and the African Union adopted a joint communiqué following their ministerial meeting.

President Donald Tusk gave a speech in Aachen during the signing ceremony of the Franco-German Treaty on cooperation and integration (Treaty of Aachen).

In the face of attacks on the liberal world order and the EU, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron renew German-Franco cooperation - but their lack of political capital prevents bold visions or ambitious goals.

A ‘no deal’ Brexit would ‘inevitably’ lead to the return of a hard border in Ireland, the European Commission’s chief spokesman said on Tuesday (22 January).

More than half a century after the Élysée Treaty was signed, France and Germany are renewing their alliance. Both countries want to cooperate closely economically, culturally and in terms of foreign policy. But can a treaty bridge existing differences of opinion? EURACTIV Germany reports.

Hardships are almost always easier to bear when there’s a “we’re all in the same boat” philosophy at work. But the EU struggles with that mantra and now its lawmakers want to bolt the stable door.

China’s lowest growth in three decades was very present in the opening of the Davos forum on Tuesday (22 January), but experts and business leaders were confident about the future of its economy despite its high indebtedness.

Committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP